An ode to Zach Wilson, the third-biggest bust in NFL history [View all]

Welcome to Mount Bustmore, Zach.


Zach Wilson is the bad habit Robert Saleh can’t quit. The mistake he refuses to admit. An endless font of hope that somehow, against the odds, he’ll materialize into a franchise quarterback. On Sunday afternoon Saleh finally pulled the plug on his three year experiment, as Wilson managed to break the one person who was left to believe in him.

Wilson will exist in some fashion in the NFL for a while. He’ll cling on with the Jets, eventually get released, then some team is going to look at him like a fixer-upper and see if they can’t crack the code. It won’t work, but if Sam Darnold and Blaine Gabbert can continue existence in this league — and if Blake Bortles can hang on for eight seasons, then Wilson sure as heck will.

That won’t change that his days as a starting quarterback are effectively over, and he can be chiseled onto Mount Bustmore alongside Ryan Leaf, JaMarcus Russell, and Johnny Manziel. The Four Horsemen of the Football Apocalypse. And you know what? I think Wilson is the third-biggest bust of this group. Nobody in NFL history is going to eclipse Ryan Leaf. His off-field demons, coupled with being the pick after Peyton Manning will forever establish him as the biggest bust in history. After that comes JaMarcus Russell, a desperate, Hail Mary of a No. 1 pick that saw the Raiders pass over TWO Hall of Famers taken immediately after in Calvin Johnson and Joe Thomas.

Then there’s Johnny Football. The player who I think got bailed out by Zach Wilson. Sure, he only played in 14 games before flaming out of the NFL with substance issues, but he was the No. 22 pick. The majority of the league knew this was a bad move when it happened — and only the Browns were dumb enough to pull the trigger. Wilson didn’t earn his spot alone. It takes a village to make a player fail like this. When it comes to the Jets’ quarterback it was a bad game of telephone where almost everyone in league circles talked themselves into believing Wilson was the real deal — even though it made no sense.... Wilson was, and is, the worst quarterback I’ve ever watched get drafted in the Top 5 since covering the draft. I’ve got the receipts to back this up.

https://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2023/11/20/23968577/zach-wilson-bust-jets-robert-saleh-nfl